Historic control tower to be dedicated Dec. 7

The newly stabilized Ford Island Control Tower at Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor will be dedicated in a ceremony Wednesday, Dec. 7, at 11 a.m., as part of the Pearl Harbor 70th Anniversary Ceremonies.

“We’re ready to show off the first phase of the monumental stabilization work that has been done to save this historic landmark where the first attack alert was broadcast on Dec. 7, 1941,” said Kenneth DeHoff, museum director.

Work on this first phase of renovation began January 2011. Mason Architects was the architectural design firm. Kiewit Building Group was the contractor. Both are in Honolulu.

Events at the museum Dec. 7 include:

Home of the Brave Quilt project – 10am to 2pm, Hangar 37: Sign a quilt and see quilts being sewed for the families of fallen Hawaii soldiers

New Exhibit Sunrise on the Fleet — The Final Moment of Peace by Robert Bracci on view in Hangar 37 Gallery. An detailed overhead view scale model of what the Japanese pilots saw, their first view of Oahu, just moments before the attack. Optically positions the viewer 6,000 feet above the South end of Oahu. The hand carved, one of a kind exhibit is on loan to the museum by the artist, for one year

A special Commemorative 70th Anniversary Coin will be available in the Museum Store.

To completely restore the Ford Island Control Tower, it is estimated that $7.5 million will be needed. When Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie was in Congress, he was instrumental in helping to secure $3.8 million through the Department of Defense appropriations for the stabilization and restoration of an historic landmark. This allowed the museum to begin work. The museum is in a capital campaign to raise the remainder needed for the complete restoration. Donations may be made online at PacificAviationMuseum.org.

The Ford Island Control Tower complex built in 1941 consists of a third level Aerological Center and Observation Deck on top of the two-story Operations Building, and the Air Traffic Control Center on top a 158-foot steel water tank tower. It played a major role in the naval activity at Pearl Harbor, especially during World War II. The tower is registered as a Category I structure in the Pearl Harbor Naval Base Historic Preservation Plan of 1978.

Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor is open 9 am to 5 pm daily and is accessed by shuttle buses from the USS Arizona Memorial/Pearl Harbor Visitor Center. Visitors can view vintage aircraft, enjoy hands on technology experiences including combat flight simulators, hear moving stories told by aviation-experienced docents, and see “A Day That Shall Live In Infamy” through historic films and audio. For more information: 808-441-1000 or PacificAviationMuseum.org

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